Thursday, February 5, 2015

Make no mistake, wars are happening. The fact that they happen far away from Singapore doesn't mean that the world is at peace.

Article in the Straits Times - Kobane pays a heavy price for expelling ISIS. Kobane (or Kobani) is a town in Northern Syria, with a population of around 45,000.

ISIL (or ISIS) tried to take the city. Kurdish forces, backed by US air power, defended the city. More than 700 strikes from the coalition pounded ISIS-held parts of the city for several months.

Kobane became a signature battle for both the ISIS and the coalition. A constellation of Kurdish forces defended Kobane. On top of local Syrian Kurds, Turkish Kurds, Iraqi Kurds, and even Kurds from Europe came back to defend Kobane.

Not just men, even the women took up arms.

While the Kurds, with US air power, have won the battle, the cost is great. Just look at this picture! All the bombed out buildings.

When I saw the picture above, I thought to myself, what would a bombed out Singapore look like? Somebody similar to the above? A chilling thought.